Probes taken by South Korean experts will reveal lifestyle of this Arctic boy from 800 years ago.

Our exclusive pictures show Korean scientists from Seoul National University, working on the human remains at the Scientific Centre of Arctic Research. Picture: Sergey Slepchenko

The latest tests on the mummified remains of this Medieval child from northern Siberia highlight the wealth of knowledge he can give us on the way he lived. Aged six or seven, he was encased in birch bark and copper, and found in an ancient necropolis close to the present day site of Salekhard, on the Arctic Circle.

Our exclusive pictures show Korean scientists from Seoul National University, headed by leading international expert Professor Dong Hoon Shin, working on the human remains at the Scientific Centre of Arctic Research.

Russian expert Dr Sergey Slepchenko, from Tyumen, said: 'The main thing is that this mummy was preserved naturally and the internal organs were not removed, unlike with artificial mummies.'

'The main thing is that this mummy was preserved naturally and the internal organs were not removed, unlike with artificial mummies.' Pictures: Sergey Slepchenko, Vesti.Yamal

Tissue samples will reveal a mass of information about how this 800 year old boy once lived. Tests include histological analysis on the mummy's tissue and its changes.

Study is also being made on histochemical and biochemical features and the research on stable isotopes.

'All this will help us to learn as much as possible about the preservation status of Zeleny-Yar-mummies in general, and the lifestyle of this child - how he lived, what he ate,' he said. 'If we are lucky, we have a slight chance of a hint on how he died. The odds are not great, but we hope.'

Samples were also taken from previously undisclosed partially mummified bodies found at the same Zeleny Yar in the past year. 'For example, this year were found the remains of a young man with a mummified pelvis.

'The upper part of his body is badly preserved, but the pelvis is mummified, so we could take the samples from his bowel and bladder. That is - our main goal is to restore the picture of life of these people, to learn as much as possible about them.'

A myriad of other research is being conducted on this mummy, highlighting its importance to new revelations about life in the pre-historic Arctic. Hopes remain in scientific efforts to discover the DNA of the mummy, although the process is taking longer than expected.

For example, local Nenets journalist Khabecha Yaungad is seen here giving a blood sample for genetic analysis. As he describes his family's past, there is an intriguing example of where the stories derived from oral history may meet scientific scrutiny.

'My forefather arrived here 700 years ago, and he was drowning in the river, but then he was washed up on a log, and my great-grandmother healed him,' he said, reaching back into the stories he had heard from his family's past.

'And then he married her daughter. They began to think, which family name to give him? And the decided: 'There are thousands of shells on the riverbank. Let us call him Shell.' In the Nenets language, his family name means 'shell'.

South Korean scientists are also working on elaborate research to recreate the face of this medieval child. 'The degree of preservation is very good, so we think that the reconstruction will be successful,' said Dr Slepchenko.

Other work is underway to create a 3D model of the mummy. Mikhail Vavulin, of the Artefakt Laboratory at Tomsk State University, said: 'Currently scientists from Salekhard are developing a plan for the mummy's conservation and restoration, so it was very important to make a scan before they start this work.'

Temple rings and a bronze axe, found at the burial site, were also scanned.

Alexander Gusev, research fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Arctic, who headed the expedition on unearthing the mummy, said: 'The new opportunities in the creation of models of archaeological sites with the help of three-dimensional scanning were tested at Zeleny Yar for the first in 2013-2014.'

These digital models enable observation of the burial from any angle. 'Any researcher can see in all the details and from all angles what the scientists saw when making the excavations at the archaeological site,' he said.

The boy's remains are seen as being accidentally preserved aided by the form of burial in a cocoon of birch bark and copper. Picture: Alexander Gusev

Further new findings are that the boy was covered in reindeer 'fur' when he was buried for posterity. 'The upper layer was the skin of a rein deer, the lower layer was the 'underfur' of the same animal,' said Gusev.

'It is hard to say what the lower layer was originally: maybe the skin of a fawn or the specially processed skin of adult reindeer. 'We are working on this,' he said. 'In addition, there were the pelts of fox and arctic fox.'

The boy's remains are seen as being accidentally preserved aided by the form of burial in a cocoon of birch bark and copper. Our previous stories show how his face, including his teeth, became suddenly visible for the first time in around eight centuries.

Written in the RuinsPaperback– 23 Jan 2016

Paul Chiasson reveals the possibility that early Chinese settlers landed in Cape Breton long before Europeans. From the very beginning of the European Age of Discovery, Cape Breton was considered unusual. The history of the area even includes early references to the island having once been the land of the Chinese. In 1497, at least a century before any attempt at European settlement in the region, the explorer John Cabot had referred to Cape Breton as the Island of Seven Cities. The indigenous people of the region, the Mikmaq, were the only aboriginal people of North America who had a written language when Europeans first arrived. This writing, clothing, and customs also suggested an early Chinese presence. In "Written in the Ruins," Chiasson investigates the ruins at St. Peters in the southern part of the island, where evidence brought to light supports a theory that could answer all the questions raised by the island's curious, unresolved history."

Friday, 15 July 2016

LJMU's National Identity Lecture Series in association with the Centre for Port and Maritime History and the Centre for the Study of International Slavery presents Dr Peter Frankopan - The Silk Roads: Questioning the Eurocentric view of history.

Dr Peter Frankopan is a historian at Oxford University, where he is a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford and Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. During this lecture he will talk about his best selling book 'The Silk Roads'.

Peter works on the history of the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia and on relations between Christianity and Islam. He also specialises in medieval Greek literature, and translated The Alexiad for Penguin Classics (2009).

Peter often writes for the international press, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, MoneyWeek and has contributed to many TV and Radio documentaries. He was recently profiled in China Daily, China's largest English language newspaper, about his new book The Silk Roads: A New History of the World.

In December 2015, Silk Roads was named The Daily Telegraph's History Book of the Year 2015.

Thursday, 14 July 2016

Bronze Age burial near Lake Baikal intrigues archeologists who have not yet revealed contents of leather pouch between man's kneecaps.

The man's skeleton had a ring made of rare white jade over one eye socket. Picture: Dmitry Kichigin

Experts speculation that this ancient couple are an elderly man and his wife or concubine, buried for eternity in a show of affection. There are some unique aspects to the couple who are believed to be from the Bronze Age Glazkov culture.

The man's skeleton had a ring made of rare white jade over one eye socket. Three more were on his chest. Archeologist Dr Dmitry Kichigin said: 'It was probably somehow connected with their ideas about the afterlife.'

Samples of the bone of the couple have been sent to Canada for radiocarbon analysis, but the Russian team involved in the excavations believe the couple to be 4,500 to 5,000 years old.

The site is a sacred burial place since Neolithic times overlooking the waters of Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake in the world. Pictures: Dmitry Kichigin

'In the grave we found male and female skeletons, lying on their backs, heads to the west, hand in hand,' he said. The site is a sacred burial place since Neolithic times overlooking the waters of Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake in the world.

The male skeleton is complete but rodents destroyed the upper part of the female. Near the woman was a 'massive' knife made of jade, some 13 centimetres in length and 7 cm in width.

Pendants of red deer and musk deer teeth were found on the male skull, and around the feet. Most likely, they decorated the hat and footwear.

'Were they relatives, or an owner and his concubine?' asked the archeologist. For now the answer is unclear: he would like to conduct DNA tests to check if the pair were related, but this appears to be too expensive.

The burial unearthed this summer is located at a cape on Maloe More, the strait that separates the mainland and the Olkhon island, close to Chernorud settlement, in some 260 kilometres to north-east of Irkutsk.

'It would be very interesting to find out the purposes the massive jade knife, which we found near the woman, was used for. Pictures: Dmitry Kichigin

The precise location is being kept secret for now to avoid amateur diggers wrecking a site which is likely to contain more burials, possibly older than this one.

'We were lucky to find at least one skeleton in excellent condition, with implements and decorations - it is the dream of many archaeologists,' said Kichigin. 'It would be very interesting to find out the purposes the massive jade knife, which we found near the woman, was used for.

'We also found some metal implement in a small leather bag between male's kneecaps.' Analysis will begin on the finds in the autumn.

'The cape, where we conducted excavations, was obviously a sacred place for ancient people,' he said. It was not a settlement but used for religious rites and as a graveyard from ancient times.

'We can expect a lot of interesting discoveries on this archaeological site, so we plan to continue our work next year.'

The archaeological team led by Dr Kichigan is from Irkutsk National Research Technical University, with the assistance of Yuliana Yemelyanova, from theLaboratory of Archeology, Paleoecology, and Life Support Systems of the Peoples of North Asia.

The burial unearthed this summer is located at a cape on Maloe More, the strait that separates the mainland and the Olkhon island, close to Chernorud settlement. Picture: The Siberian Times

Manuscripts and Printed Books from Khara-Khoto(Studies in Manuscript Cultures)

Hardcover– 13 Nov 2015

This book examines Tangut translations of secular Chinese texts excavated from the ruins of Khara-khoto. After providing an overview of Tangut history and an introduction to the emergence of the field of Tangut studies, it presents four case studies grouped around different themes. A central concern of the book is the phenomenon of Tangut appropriation of Chinese written culture through translation and the reasons behind this.

Deep connections:Students looking at an ancient ring found at Pattarai Perumbudhur.—Photo: B.Jothi Ramalingam

Romans used the city as a transit hub to trade with northern States

For ancient Romans, Chennai was not just another trading port town along the coastline. Instead, the city was a key transit hub for them to carry out their trade.

New findings have emerged after a team of archaeologists from the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department found broken pieces of roulette ware, a Roman royal household ware, at an excavation site in Pattarai Perambadur, a small village with around 600 farming families on the western outskirts of Chennai.

Funded by the State government , the three-month-long excavation, which ended last Tuesday, was monitored by the Commissioner of the Department, D. Karthikeyan. The team comprised J. Baskar, archaeological officer (Chennai); J. Ranjith, Arcot curator; and P. Baskar, epigraphist, Poompuhar.

Three sites excavated

Archaeologists said this was the first time evidence has emerged on Roman presence in western parts of the city, indicating they travelled away from the coastline. The three ancient sites – Nathamedu, Aanaimedu and Irularthoppu – in Pattarai Perambadur village were excavated with 12 trenches.

The team found most of the 200 antiques, including stone tools, pot shreds, beads made of ivory, glass and terracotta, conical jars and a ring well from Irularthoppu hamlet in three small trenches.

Palaeolithic age

They found an entire sequence of habitations since the early Palaeolithic age (10,000 years ago) to early Christian era.

Presence of rouletted ware, conical jars, hopscotch, lid knob of various sizes and a deer horn indicated that the site acted as transit route to the Romans for trading.

For instance, a two-feet-high conical jar with holes was among the findings. As per the Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, such jars with holes were found mainly in ancient towns such as Bairat and Sambar in Rajasthan and in Vaishali (Bihar). Such jars were used to hold incense sticks.

First time in T.N.

Interestingly, the jar with holes has been found for the first time in Tamil Nadu, the team members said.

They believe that as it was an ancient town located along the Kosasthalaiyar, the site might have been a key link connecting the Romans with northern States via Andhra Pradesh. Pot shreds with boat graffiti found at the site also support this theory because transporting goods by boats was common during the ancient times, the team members said.

“As the site was located en-route Kancheepuram, a trading and cultural capital during the ancient times, the Romans, before proceeding northwards, might have halted there. Northern traders might have done the same before going to Kancheepuram,” said D. Thulasiraman, regional assistant director (retired) of the Archaeology Department.

Archaeologists have found rouletted ware, conical jars, lid knobs of various sizes and deer horn

Sunday, 3 July 2016

A skull bone of the Buddha was found inside this gold casket, which was stored in a silver casket within the stupa model, found in a crypt beneath a Buddhist temple.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Chinese Cultural Relics

Archaeologists have discovered what may be a skull bone from the revered Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. The bone was hidden inside a model of a stupa, or a Buddhist shrine used for meditation.

The research team found the 1,000-year-old model within a stone chest in a crypt beneath a Buddhist temple in Nanjing, China. Inside the stupa model archaeologists found the remains of Buddhist saints, including a parietal (skull) bone that inscriptions say belonged to the Buddha himself.

The model is made of sandalwood, silver and gold, and is covered with gemstones made of crystal, glass, agate and lapis lazuli, a team of archaeologists reported in an article published in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics.

Inscriptions engraved on the stone chest that the model was found in say that it was constructed during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong (A.D. 997-1022), during the Song Dynasty. Also inscribed on the stupa are the names of people who donated money and material to build the model, as well as some of the people who constructed the model. [See Photos of the Model Stupa Holding Buddha Remains]

While the inscriptions say that the skull bone belongs to the Buddha, it is unknown whether it really does come from him. In the journal article, archaeologists didn't speculate on how likely it is. The bone is being treated with great respect and has been interred in the modern-day Qixia Temple by Buddhist monks.

Stone chest inscription

This model of a stupa, which is used for meditation, was discovered beneath Grand Bao'en Temple in Nanjing, China. The 1,000-year-old stupa is made of sandalwood, silver and gold.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Chinese Cultural Relics

Discovered beneath the Grand Bao'en Temple, the stupa model — which is 117 centimeters tall and 45 cm wide (nearly 4 feet by 1.5 feet) — was stored within an iron box, which, in turn, was stored within a stone chest.

An inscription found within the stone chest was written by a man named Deming about 1,000 years ago, saying that he is "the Master of Perfect Enlightenment, Abbot of Chengtian Monastery [and] the Holder of the Purple Robe" (as translated by researchers in the journal article). He tells the story of how the Buddha's parietal bone came to China. [Photos: 1,700-Year-Old Buddhist Sculptures Found in Shrine]

Deming wrote that after the Buddha "entered parinirvana" (a final death that breaks the cycle of death and rebirth), that his body "was cremated near the Hirannavati River" in India. The man who ruled India at the time, King Ashoka (reign 268-232 B.C.), decided to preserve the Buddha's remains, which he "divided into a total of 84,000 shares," Deming wrote. "Our land of China received 19 of them," including the parietal bone, he added.

The parietal bone was kept in a temple that was destroyed about 1,400 years ago during a series of wars, Deming wrote. "The foundation ruins … were scattered in the weeds," Deming wrote. "In this time of turbulence, did no one care for Buddhist affairs?"

Emperor Zhenzong agreed to rebuild the temple and have the Buddha's parietal bone, and the remains of other Buddhist saints, buried in an underground crypt at the temple, according to Deming's inscriptions. They were interred on July 21, 1011 A.D., in "a most solemn and elaborate burial ceremony," Deming wrote.

Deming praised the emperor for rebuilding the temple and burying the Buddha's remains, wishing the emperor a long life, loyal ministers and numerous grandchildren: "May the Heir Apparent and the imperial princes be blessed and prosperous with 10,000 offspring; may Civil and Military Ministers of the Court be loyal and patriotic; may the three armed forces and citizens enjoy a happy and peaceful time …"

Buddha burial

The parietal bone of the Buddha was buried within an inner casket made of gold, which, in turn, was placed in an outer casket made of silver, according to the archaeologists. The silver casket was then placed inside the model of the stupa.

The gold and silver caskets were decorated with images of lotus patterns, phoenix birds and gods guarding the caskets with swords. The outer casket also has images of spirits called apsaras that are shown playing musical instruments.

The parietal bone of the Buddha was placed within the gold inner casket along with three crystal bottles and a silver box, all of which contain the remains of other Buddhist saints.

Engraved on the outside of the model are several images of the Buddha, along with scenes depicting stories from the Buddha's life, from his birth to the point when he reached "parinirvana," a death from which the Buddha wasn't reborn — something that freed him from a cycle of death and rebirth, according to the Buddhist religion.

Impact in China

A large team of archaeologists from the Nanjing Municipal Institute of Archaeology excavated the crypt between 2007 and 2010; they were supported by experts from other institutions in China.

Although the excavations received little coverage by Western media outlets, they were covered extensively in China. Chinese media outlets say that, after the parietal bone of the Buddha was removed, Buddhist monks interred the bone and the remains of the other Buddhist saints in Qixia Temple, a Buddhist temple used today. The Buddha's parietal bone and other artifacts from the excavation were later displayed in Hong Kong and Macao.

When the bone traveled to Macao in 2012, the media outlet Xinhua reported that "tens of thousands of Buddhist devotees will pay homage to the sacred relic," and that "more than 140,000 tickets have been sold out by now, according to the [event organizer]."

An article detailing the discoveries was published in Chinese in 2015 in the journal Wenwu, before being translated and published in Chinese Cultural Relics.

A 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Afghanistan is under threat of demolition as a Chinese mining company, eager to access the world's largest untapped copper deposits, closes in.

China Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC) wants to extract the $100bn worth of copper lying beneath the ruins of the ancient Buddhist city of Mes Aynak.

Only 10 percent of Mes Aynak has been excavated, though, and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism itself.Saving Mes Aynakfollows Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to stop the crumbling monasteries and ruins from being destroyed.

Temori and his fellow Afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the Chinese, the Taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure.

FROM THE FILMMAKER

By Brent E. Huffman

Saving Mes Aynak is ultimately a story of hope.

This is a film that is optimistic for a better future for Afghanistan, a country plagued by over 30 years of perpetual war, yet containing one of the richest cultural histories in the world. This documentary is dedicated to Afghan archaeologists, like Qadir Temori, who face constant threats from the Taliban, private industry, and their own government to save the ancient archaeological site Mes Aynak.

Saving Mes Aynak stands not only as a reflection of these courageous efforts to protect and preserve invaluable cultural heritage, but also represents a voice for the voiceless - a vehicle where Afghans can speak out on camera against these injustices happening all around them. Now these passionate, courageous voices will finally be heard.

Some believe that future discoveries at the archaeological site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism [Al Jazeera]

I created Saving Mes Aynak to be a catalyst for change. My hope is that the documentary can actually save Mes Aynak by rallying international support to stop the destruction of this site scheduled for next year.

Mes Aynak, a 5,000 year-old treasure trove over 500,000 square meters in size, is truly one of the unseen wonders of the world. Comparable to Pompeii and Machu Picchu, these sprawling ruins feature hundreds of life-size or larger Buddha statues, dozens of temples, hidden caverns and thousands of priceless artifacts like birch-bark manuscripts, gold and copper coins, jewelry and intricate hand painted murals.

Mes Aynak is grand and awe-inspiring and has the magical ability to lure people (like me) from all over the world to fall in love with its mysterious beauty. Archaeologists estimate that only 10 percent of Mes Aynak has been discovered - only the tip of an enormous iceberg.

Who knows what still lays hidden, buried under a mountain of sand and earth? At the heart of the Silk Road, Mes Aynak was a melting pot of Asian and Middle Eastern cultures where travellers and Buddhists on pilgrimages could trade their wares, exchange cultural perspectives and even worship together at the same location.

Afghan archaeologists battle the Chinese and the Taliban in a bid to save a 5,000-year-old Buddhist site [Al Jazeera]

Ironically, Mes Aynak was also one of the earliest known copper mining centres in the world - where the precious material was mined and smelted using ancient technology used in coin production and in the creation of ancient Buddhist artifacts. If Mes Aynak were to be tragically destroyed, Saving Mes Aynak would be the only visual record that this wondrous city ever existed.

As a civilised society, we cannot let that happen.

When the towering Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, the world gasped in horror. People shouted, "Why did this happen?" and, "Why didn't we stop it?"

The same tragic fate will soon happen to Mes Aynak unless we take immediate action. We have the power to stop this senseless destruction. It is my duty both as a filmmaker and as a global citizen to get this film seen by a massive global audience that can put pressure on the Afghan government to stop mining and save this incredible site for future generations.

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Hans van Roon

About Me

My fascination for these subjects started in the '80 's by reading the book of Peter Hopkirk about the travels and explorations of Aurel Stein in Central Asia at the beginning of the 20th century.
Over the Silk Road through Central Asia, the Taklamakan Desert, Bokhara and Samarkand I arrived in the 13th century and followed the building of a world empire by Genghis Khan, his sons and grandsons.
His most famous grand son was Khubilai Khan and with him I ended in the Yuan Dynasty in the time when Marco Polo visited China and since than I never stopped reading again

Bibliotheca Sinica 2.0

Bibliotheca Sinica 2.0 explores Sino-Western encounters with a guide to digitized books on China published between 1477 and 1939

Yale Silk Road Database

The Yale Silk Road Database serves as a multi-disciplinary resource with relevance to students and faculty working in the fields of art and archaeology, religious studies, history, East Asian languages and literatures, Central Asian and Islamic studies.

International Dunhuang Project

IDP is a ground-breaking international collaboration to make information and images of all manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and archaeological sites of the Eastern Silk Road freely available on the Internet